St. Petersburg is often called Russia’s “window to Europe”, and this “window” opens out upon the Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Finland is very beautiful in winter, especially at sunset, when the waning sun shines onto the evergreen trees that outline the frozen seashore, a sight you surely wouldn’t want to miss; another marvel to the eyes are the ice reefs that are often cast ashore, forming outlandish, erratic structures.
As for where to go to enjoy this magnificent sight, there are several different options, so both utter city-dwellers and experienced hikers will be able to find one to their liking. For the former, going to the parks of Peterhof is the wiser choice, as they overlook the gulf and are quite close to St. Petersburg, or at least hard to get lost in; the latter can try the gulf’s northern shore near such places as Lisy Nos, Sestroretsk or Zelenogorsk.
To the other side of St. Petersburg, there’s another great natural landmark - Europe’s biggest lake Ladoga; its coastal features are most picturesque, as they change from the plain beaches to the south to the cliffed coasts in the north, where the lake’s skerries - small rocky islands - dot its surface in a most peculiar manner. The obvious way to get to lake Ladoga is to take a train from the Ladozhsky railway station to the Ladoga Lake station (simple, isn’t it?); yet, to see the famed skerries, you will need to hike from the town of Priozersk or go all the way to the city of Sortavala in Karelia.
Karelia. Credit: Tetiana SHYSHKINA (@shyshkina) on Unsplash
Open spaces are great, but if you ask me, nothing beats a good forest stroll, especially in winter, when the snow dampens every sound, and the silence is almost mesmerizing. On the practical side of things, a generic forest is easier to find, it’s a bit less cold there, and you can enjoy sitting around the campfire and so on. For that kind of a pastime, you might consider going to the north of St. Petersburg; after catching a train from the Finlyandsky Railway Station, you can just pick the spot from out the train window. My personal choice would be someplace near the Lembolovo station, which is not far from the city and quite popular with tourists, so it is easier to navigate or get help.
If you are concerned with getting lost, or just don’t have the time to plan a proper hike, you should consider going to the Mon Repos park in Vyborg. As opposed to the historic parks of St. Petersburg’s satellite towns, this one is more of a natural reserve, so it has a “wilder” atmosphere to it; then again, it is well within Vyborg’s city borders, which is great in case you get cold, bored, or decide to look for the more “civilized” kinds of fun.
Vyborg. Credit: alexey turenkov (@2renkov) on Unsplash
Whatever your choice, we’d like to give you some general tips.
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Dress warm, as in very warm - now’s the coldest time in St. Petersburg, and the better the weather, the colder it gets. Also, don’t forget that it gets even colder when you’re out of the city.
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Bringing along a thermos with a hot drink is always a good idea. Even if you’re not freezing to death, a cup of hot coffee or tea will definitely make your experience even better.
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Be mindful of time. After 6 PM or so, it starts to get really dark, really fast, making it hard to get around.
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Plan your route thoroughly, download a map, and always check that you have signal on your phone.
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Finally, make sure that you don’t get lost or ill. In any case, seek advice from your Russian friends - or better yet, bring them along!
Well, we hope that was useful. And don't forget - there's nothing like a good snowball fight to say goodbye to winter!
